CBBC presenter Lauren Layfield and Stoke City goalkeeper Shay Given were among the guests impressed by the business and presenting skills of young entrepreneurs in this year's Premier League Enterprise Challenge last week.
Students representing 15 Premier League and Football League clubs went head-to-head in three play-offs at Stoke City's Britannia Stadium and Manchester City's Etihad Stadium for the right to take part in the Enterprise Challenge final.
The young people, some of whom have not studied business before, gave presentations, presented business ideas and financial plans to a brief set by Premier League Executive Chairman Richard Scudamore, which this year asked the teams to encourage fans to spend more time at the stadium on match days.
Layfield was one of the judges panel for the heats in Manchester and was impressed.
"This programme is not what it seems maybe from the outside," she told premierleague.com. "It's an opportunity for kids, but it's more. It's a chance for them to prove themselves.
"They may go away from here and will be cool and teenage about it but you can tell that they all are proud of themselves, going, 'I can do that.' "
Given was at the Britannia Stadium to see Swansea City, represented by Pentrehafod School, win the heat. The Irishman, who has made 443 appearances in the Barclays Premier League, offered advice for those teams who did not make it through.
"Everybody wants to win but all the presentations were fantastic," he said. "It's about taking part sometimes that counts as well.
"I’ve been in losing teams before and it's about the next thing you do in your life, the next project you do."
Everton's Knowsley Park School will also be at the final after their proposals for a fan loyalty card impressed at the Etihad Stadium.
"I can't believe it," said team member Michael Rowan. "After we won we ran into our room and were screaming and shouting. I never thought I would be able to do this.
"You are building up all of these nerves at first and you don't want to go up there, but as soon as you are up there, and you talk into the microphone, you just get this energy that you want to stay up there longer."
It is not the only special moment the Knowsley Park team have enjoyed by being part of the competition. Last month, they met Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne at Everton's training ground.
"They both thought it was a great idea," Rowan said. "Meeting them gave us a boost and the energy to come and show our presentation."
Manchester United won the other play-off, reaching the final for the first time with Swinton High School's idea of unique food dishes in honour of the club's new signings helping them triumph.
The Enterprise Challenge is the highlight of the Premier League Enterprise programme, run in partnership with Sport Relief. It uses the appeal of football and the expertise of the clubs to engage young people, some from the hardest-to-reach areas of the country, in business education and activities.
"We hear about a lot of these projects, the difference they make, the impact they have but you don't always get a chance to see it first hand," said Sport Relief's James Baulk, one of the judges in Manchester.
"If the Premier League is involved in something, young people want to take notice and they want to get involved.
"It's a great avenue for Sport Relief to work with them, to develop young people's life skills, their business and communication skills, their self-confidence, all the things that can take people who have a difficult situation and help them transform their lives and have a positive outlook for the future.
"This partnership brings it together."
